JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reminds deer hunters that it is conducting mandatory sampling and voluntary sampling of harvested deer to help find cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD). MDC encourages hunters to properly dispose of deer carcasses to help limit the spread of the disease. MDC also encourages hunters to Share the Harvest and to follow special guidelines if sharing a harvested deer from a county where CWD has been found.
CWD is an infectious and deadly illness for white-tailed deer and other members of the deer family, called cervids. There have been no known cases of CWD infecting people, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strongly recommends having deer tested for CWD if harvested in an area known to have cases of the disease. The CDC also recommends not eating meat from animals that test positive for CWD. Cases of CWD are relatively rare in Missouri with 76 confirmed cases in free-ranging deer since the disease was first found in free-ranging deer in 2012. Learn more at mdc.mo.gov/cwd.
Mandatory CWD sampling Nov. 10 and 11
MDC will be conducting mandatory CWD sampling of deer harvested in 31 of the 48 counties of its CWD Management Zone during the opening weekend of the fall firearms deer season, Nov. 10 and 11.
The counties are: Adair, Barry, Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Cedar, Cole, Crawford, Franklin, Grundy, Hickory, Jefferson, Knox, Linn, Macon, Madison, McDonald, Mercer, Moniteau, Ozark, Perry, Polk, Putnam, St. Charles, St. Clair, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Stone, Sullivan, Taney, Warren, and Washington.
Hunters who harvest deer from these counties Nov. 10 or 11 must take their deer — or the head with at least 6 inches of the neck in place — on the day